2001 Parliament Attack: Leaders Pay Homage to Martyrs on 13th Anniversary

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan led parliamentarians on Saturday in paying homage to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other members attended a solemn ceremony held in the premises of the Parliament, reports Zee News.

The leaders present also included Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambi Durai, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi and CPI's D Raja.

Tributes flowed in from the family members of the slain martyrs. In addition a blood donation camp was also organised in the Parliament premises.

An overwhelmed Rajnath Singh said, "The martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for the security of the biggest temple of democracy, can never be forgotten by the nation. I pay my tribute to them and express my respect to the families of the martyrs."

Paying homage to the martyrs, Prime Minister Modi had earlier tweeted, "We salute martyrs [sic] who lost their lives protecting the Temple of our Democracy on this day in 2001. Their sacrifices are etched in our memory".

Senior BJP leader L K Advani said that the nation was facing terrorism for a long time and that the challenge was not limited to a particular day.

"This day reminds us that the threat is not over," Advani said.

"We had told it that talks will be fruitful only if this step is taken. It is a matter of regret that this step has not been taken so far. Our opinion has always been that our neighbouring country should take this step. Only then our talks will be successful," said the former deputy prime minister.